


A Collection of Bone-a-fide Stories

by SofaKills



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-03-17 01:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13648797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SofaKills/pseuds/SofaKills
Summary: A little spot for all of Brook's stories. Contains AUs, canon-compliant drabbles, anything that relates to the Soul King~





	1. From Tulips to Heliotropes, I love you

**Author's Note:**

> The Language of Flowers, a confession, and a resolution. Canon-compliant, with a focus mainly on Yorki and Brook's relationship.

“Say, Captain.” Brook speaks up, forcing the shorter of the two to turn away from the market stand with bottles of alcohol that’s been occupying his thoughts for a few minutes now.

“Yeah, Brook?” Yorki replies, curious about what’s caught his first mate’s attention.  
  
The answer comes in the form of Brook leaning forward and putting something around the rim of his hat.

"Do you like flowers?” Brook asks, smiling softly as he adjusts the dark lenses that so often cover his eyes. A shame, as Yorki finds his eyes to be quite beautiful.

"Sure do, though I can’t keep any alive for shit!” Yorki answers, all grins as he removes his hat to see what exactly Brook has placed there.

It’s a wreath of tulips, red petals and green stems standing out against the white leather.

“Flowers can mean many things, depending on who gives them.” Brook says, a red tulip resting in his breast pocket. “Red tulips are a declaration of love, for one. A yellow hyacinth is jealousy, though I don’t think we will have much trouble with that sort of thing.”

“Our only other love in this world is music, after all.” Yorki says, putting his hat back on. “And, that’s something we share.”

“So, will you accept them?” Brook asks, seemingly without thinking.

“I’m wearing them, aren’t I? I’d be happy to take flowers from you any day, Brook.” Yorki replies, smile bright as the sun itself.

Brook’s response comes in the form of joyful laughter, and they kiss in the middle of the busy market street before they move on, a petal or two falling in their wake.

 

The years pass, their journey forcing them onto different paths. But even so, their love remains.

It is what leads them to find one another again, fifty odd years after their first parting.

Brook stands tall, bone-thin - After all, he is nothing _but_ bones these days - as he waits by an abandoned lighthouse. He hums a love song to himself, listening for the sound of his love’s footsteps.

Yorki steps over to the skeleton without even a shred of fear lingering over him, crow’s feet crinkling as he grins. “Care to lean down a bit, Brook?” he asks, waiting until Brook complies before putting something over his love’s hat.

“Did you bring a gift for me?” Brook asks, mirth echoing between them.

“Just a promise, this time.” Yorki answers, watching as Brook takes off his hat to see what that promise might be.

It’s a wreath of flowers, surrounding the golden rim of his crown. Purple heliotropes, drops of dew glittering in the orange light of dusk.

“A promise fulfilled, then.” Brook says softly, gently taking one of the flowers to place behind Yorki’s ear. “Thank you.”


	2. 16. A Dear Friend Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another take on Brook and Laboon's reunion. Takes place in a time post-canon, without much detail.

There was a faint breeze, one that could barely be felt as it danced around the Thousand Sunny. Brook noted the lessening distance between their ship and the imposing Red Line, changing from his guitar to the old and worn violin. It felt right, considering who was waiting on the other side.    
  
It took him only a moment to start weaving the familiar notes of Binks’ Brew, staying as he was even as the others worked to maneuver the ship. It would take quite a bit of effort to make crossing the mountain possible, but they were determined.    
  
Brook remembered very little of how they pulled it off, his thoughts being entirely too full of what-ifs and fears of what would happen once they made it across. All he could think about was Laboon, and the Tone Dial weighed heavily in his skull as he continued to play the song that had become a symbol for their promise to the little whale.    
  
Still, they made it, and let the current lead the way down Reverse Mountain as Brook continued to play. He could see Laboon, waiting ever-patiently.    
  
The little cries and whistles that Brook could recall had become bellowing, low notes, rattling through his bones as he listened to what he could only think to be a greeting. Or, perhaps Laboon was admonishing them for taking so long?    
  
“LABOOON! WE’RE BAAAAAAAACK!” Luffy shouted from his seat on the figurehead, grinning as his voice bounced off of the mountain and echoed all around them.    
  


The resounding roar of sound that he received in response forced Brook to stop playing, tears spilling forth as he watched his old friend. It was time to fulfill that long-lost promise, after fifty years of waiting. He dried his tears with his sleeve, and brought out the Tone Dial before stepping over to the railing. By now, their descent had slowed, and the Sunny was easily maneuvered so that they wouldn’t crash into the island whale.    
  
Brook hardly listened to what was going on around him, his focus being solely on Laboon as he gripped the worn shell in one hand.    
  
What was he supposed to say, after leaving the whale to wait for so long? What could he say, even?    
  
“Laboon, do you remember me?” he asked, only to be taken aback by how soon the gigantic whale’s gaze seemed to focus on him. Still, he couldn’t help but smile despite his tears making a return.    
  
“It’s me, Brook!” he then said, almost desperate to get that across. “I’m so sorry for making you wait this long, but I made it back here!” Tears warped his words, but he nonetheless spoke, hoping that the whale was listening.    
  
The silence between them was short-lived, as he quickly realized that he could see recognition in Laboon’s eyes. And what followed was nothing short of the loudest roar the island whale had ever let out, screaming his joy to the skies and the mountain. Brook couldn’t help but let out a sob, relief threatening to overwhelm him as he watched Laboon.    
  
Still, he couldn’t leave it there. There was something else that had to be said, though he waited until Laboon had turned quiet again before speaking.    
  
“There’s something I need you to listen to, Laboon. It’s a message, from our friends to you.” he said, holding out the Tone Dial for him to see.    
  
The whale only blinked in response to his words, but somehow, he got the feeling that he understood. Thus, Brook moved to sit on the railing, placing the Tone Dial on his lap before letting the familiar notes of Binks’ Brew ring through the air. The shell finally played for its intended listener, bringing the final message of the Rumbar Pirates to the friend that they had been forced to leave behind.    
  
By the time the last note of the piano rang out, both of them were crying.    
  
“We had fun until the very end, I promise! Even though I’m the only one who could come back to see you again, they all wanted to live up to the promise!  _ I’m so happy to see you again, Laboon! _ ” Despite the tears that were rolling down his face, Brook seemed to be smiling. He truly was happy to see his friend again, even after having to face death first.


	3. A Doctor's Curiousity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Law wants to know how Brook functions, and it leads to a rather hands-on approach. Brook is not amused. Canon-compliant, to an extent.

As always, there were questions to be asked. In this current situation, one such question was ‘Why are Brook’s vertebrae scattered on the deck of the Sunny?’

The answer to that lied in one particular Surgeon of Death’s hands, or eyes, as he was giving the disassembled skeleton a rather intense stare. The lower half of the skeleton was sprawled somewhere near the mast, while what remained of his torso was in the middle of the grassy deck along with his head. 

  
“Torao, why are you doing this?!” Brook cried out in distress, not at all happy to have his one and only body(bones though it may be) reduced to pieces like this.

“Testing my hypothesis.” Law answered, reaching down to pick up one of Brook’s lumbar vertebrae as he spoke. He turned it over in his hand a few times, noting the fact that the skeleton hardly seemed to notice what he was doing until he saw it.

“Put that down, please! I need that segment of my spine, thank you very much!” Brook said, though he was unable to really do much else but speak. That is, until he forced his soul out of his skull and floated over to Law.

“Relax.” Law said, giving no explanation or inclination that he was going to give it back as he held it up to examine it. He’d have to take a sample to really investigate this further, but as far as he could tell, there was nothing abnormal about Brook’s bone marrow. Besides the fact that it had the quality of a living person’s bone marrow rather than a dead person’s.

“How could I relax when you’re playing around with my body parts, Torao?!” Brook asked, the floating soul hovering insistently in the surgeon’s face as if to obstruct him.

Law’s solution to this was to simply step aside, placing the vertebrae down in the grass before raising his now free hand. “How much do you know about how you function?” he asked, swiftly putting the skeleton back together as he spoke.

“Next to nothing, biologically speaking!” Brook answered, as cheerful as a man could be when his body was whole again. 

Law resisted the urge to knock Brook’s head off of his body again, and instead just, dragged a hand down his face. “So you have no idea how you can function as if you’re actually alive?” he asked, mostly for clarification.   
  
“Well, I do have some ideas, but they’re not exactly… Grounded in logic, I suppose?” Brook answered, tapping away a bit of dirt from his phalanges as he spoke. “After all, my soul is the driving force behind everything I do.”

“.... Your soul, huh.” Law replied, giving him a dead-eyed stare. Ironic, considering that the man he was staring at was technically dead.

“Yes. My soul is constantly emitting energy, and that energy is what allows me to move, and by extension, live!” Brook replied in turn, all cheer as he headed to retrieve his violin. “Because I can perpetually move without needing sustenance, I’m effectively immortal.”

“So, what happens to the food that you _do_ eat?” Law asked, unperturbed in his quest for answers.

“I don’t have the slightest clue!” Brook answered, putting his bow to the strings of the violin before starting to play a cheerful, if a bit fast-paced, melody. “I mean, I _do_ poop, but I don’t know how or why.”

“... **How can you have no idea**? Last I heard, you’ve been like this for over half your life.” Law said, only briefly considering the option of taking him apart again just to get a really good look at every atom that made up the skeleton.

“Because, I died.” Brook said, lifting the bow and lowering the violin. “By the time I was revived, I was already a skeleton! And after that, I was far too busy chasing away my loneliness to pay much attention to how my body functioned.” he then added, his tone never changing from its usually cheerful lilt.

That cheerfulness was, for a lack of a better word, unnerving. Thus, Law decided that the best thing was to keep pushing forth with his questions rather than acknowledge what had just been said.

“So. Where does it come out from?” he asked, completely serious. 

“From what I gather, my soul!” Brook replied, grinning despite not having a face.   
  
“No, I’m being serious. Where does it come out from?” Law repeated, insistently.

 A moment of silence passed between them, before Brook spoke up.

“My soul, I just told you.” Brook replied, tilting his head in what the surgeon had learnt was confusion.

“Stop fucking with me.” Law said, being quite fed up with the nonsensical answers. “Just, answer the question.”

“But I have been answering the question!” Brook replied, his tone of voice coming frighteningly closed to that of an offended Luffy. How? Law didn’t want to know.

“Your answer doesn’t make any sense.” Law retorted, glaring at him.

“Because _I_ don’t make sense! I’m a walking skeleton, logic can’t touch me!” Brook responded, shaking his head a little. “Besides, any theory that you have about me having actual organs hidden somewhere is implausible! I’ve been in bad enough shape that my pelvic bones needed patching up, along with everything else. My ribs, my spine, my _cranium_ , anything and everything. There’s nothing there but bone!” the skeleton replied, and proceeded to open his skull for the added effect. 

“... What the fuck.” Law said, his glare quickly shifting to a more inquisitive stare.

“As I said before, what lets me move, speak, eat, drink, and everything that humans partake in is my _soul_. Shall we leave it at that, Trafalgar?” Brook asked, actually tipping his hat after putting the top of his skull back into place.

“... Fine. But I _will_ figure out how you function one day, I swear.” Law answered, sighing.

“Shall I honor that promise with a song?” Brook asked, seeming to grin as he spoke.

“No.” 

“But-”   
  
“ **No**. I’m going to have a word with Nico-ya.” Law said, and then headed off towards the galley.

“Shame, I thought he would appreciate a Northern Waltz.” Brook murmured, but shrugged before starting to play something different.   

They both elected to never speak of this incident to anyone else. 


	4. The Lost Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if the Tone Dial was to break before the promise could be fulfilled? The answer to that question is what's written in this chapter. Sort of canon-compliant, set post-timeskip.

It had happened in an instant. None of them could ever have predicted that such a thing could happen, let alone without any of them being able to interfere in time.   
  
Brook had brought out the Tone Dial, to play the accompaniment while they had reached a lull in their journey.   


The island that they had stopped at seemed to be relatively peaceful, at least for the time being. He took advantage of that fact, as well as the newly purchased piano, dragging it out on deck with the help of Franky. And soon, he was letting his fingers dance over the ivory keys, freely singing along to the ever-present Binks’ Brew.   
  
But that had all changed when they were attacked. It was a tough fight, if only because their enemy had the advantage in numbers. Still, the few Strawhats that had stayed behind on the ship weren’t going to lose to paltry numbers. Brook weaved his way through and around the crowded ship, letting loose volley after volley of ice in tandem with precise slashes. However, in the midst of that, he realized something.   
  
He’d left the precious shell out in the open, where anything could happen to it.   
  
He felt his breath rattle in his chest for a split second, and then he was forcing his way through throes of people to reach it.   
  
But, just as he caught sight of it again, it was smashed into pieces.   
  
The song stopped playing, the voices of his friends and comrades dissipating into nothing. Bone white shards rained down onto the deck, as he felt as if his heart was being torn to pieces.   
  
The dial was beyond saving. It was completely crushed, and with it, any hope he had of bringing his crew’s final message to Laboon.   
  
_All was lost_ .   
  
The Soul King fell to his knees, empty sockets staring at the shards of what had been his one solace for fifty years of loneliness and grief.   
  
And then, he **screamed** .   
  
His soul was spilling forth in green flames, surrounding him as he screamed his anguish and sorrow to the heavens, and anyone who would hear it.   
  
Their foes fell, overtaken by despair as waves of soul energy washed over them.   
  
Tears were spilling forth from his eye sockets, reflecting the eerie glow of the ethereal flames that surrounded him .   
  
It was a song that should never have seen the light of day, a song that he had no intention of creating. But now, in this hour of ill fortune, there was no ballad more suitable than this one.   
  
He could no longer hear the worried voices of his friends, nor the screams of terror from witnesses of this horrid spectacle.   
  
“ _I’m sorry, Brook._ ”   
  
Then, he felt as if he’d been thrown into the sea, and his voice was silenced. The flames, raging in tandem with his heart, died with it, and he felt himself slip away into blissful darkness.   
  
\-----   
  
He woke up to the worried gaze of Chopper, who seemed immensely relieved that he was even awake at all.   
  
“Brook!” The reindeer’s voice fully betrayed just how worried he’d been, tears glistening as they melded into brown fur.   
  
Brook gave no response, instead staring up at the ceiling listlessly. Or, at least he did until a hoof was more or less shoved into his left eye socket. He couldn’t help but shriek in shock, and quickly backed as close to the headboard as he could possibly get.   
  
“Don’t do that! I know I might not have eyes, but that’s still too close!” Brook had reflexively covered the targeted socket with one hand, and he peered through his fingers as he gave Chopper a sour look.   
  
“You’ve been asleep for three days, I had to check that you hadn’t lapsed back into unconsciousness!” was Chopper’s report, his concern quickly washing away any irritation that Brook felt over almost being poked in the eye.   
  
“... Three days?” he repeated, his jaw turning slack from shock. “I’ve slept for that long?”   
  
“Yes, that’s what I said you bonehead! We were all really worried!” Chopper said, sniffling a little.   
  
Anything else that could have been said was drowned out by the sound of seven pairs of feet heading towards the infirmary. And as soon as the door opened, there was a red blur as Luffy threw himself onto the bed(and by extension, Brook).   
  
“BROOOK! You’re awake!” the captain exclaimed, grinning as brightly as he always did.   
  
“Ah, yes. I apologize if I made you wait for long.” Brook replied, making an attempt to imbue his words with his usual cheer. However, it sounded hollow even to himself.   
  
Since there was nothing physically wrong with him, he could get back on his feet easily. Though, there was still quite a difference between the Brook from a week ago and the present Brook.   
  
His music still sounded as wonderful as ever, but to the Strawhats, it was lacking something. The musician couldn’t put his soul into the music, at least not to the same extent as before. 

Still, they continued their journey towards the end of the Grand Line. Even if they couldn’t help heal the wound that losing the Tone Dial had caused, they were going to keep Brook from tearing it open.   
  
There were better and worse days, this was true for all of them, and had been true for Brook as well. Now, it had just gone a step further towards the extreme. On the worst days, he would stare down at his instruments without moving even a finger, revulsion for his mistake keeping him from even playing the simplest chord.   
  
He would occasionally shed tears, almost sporadically. There were also times when he would forget that the Tone Dial had even been destroyed at all, and worked himself into a frenzy as he searched the ship for it. That is, until he’d remember that it was shattered.   
  
The scope of the loss was immeasurable, despite the dial only being a simple shell. It had carried his and his crew’s hope for decades, only to be destroyed before it could be delivered to the waiting Laboon.   
  
Brook despised himself for allowing it to happen. But despite that, he didn’t wallow in it. After all, there was nothing that could be done. The others had gathered up the shards that they’d been able to find, letting him at least keep the remnants. He would still continue forward, to Laboon. With or without the Tone Dial, he would keep the promise.   
  
It would take him time to truly come to terms with it, but he could say that it was a good start. His goal hadn’t changed, after all. The means he had to deliver the message had only changed, from the dial to his own retelling of its story.   
  
Three weeks passed, allowing them to settle back into the usual routines. Brook’s state of mind slowly improved, and he soon started to crack jokes like usual again. Of course, he wasn’t quite fine yet, but he had dealt with worse blows to his psyche in the past. This too, would pass.   
  
He started to compose again, after leaving the craft alone for quite some time. After his stint as a rockstar, he had decided to take a break from writing songs for a while. But now, it felt freeing.   
  
It was in the midst of piecing together a suitable bridge from one verse to the chorus that he picked up on the sound of a voice. It didn’t belong to Robin, who had opted to stay behind while the others went off to explore(and to make an attempt to keep Luffy in line). It didn’t belong to any of the people who were walking through the harbor, either. At least not the ones that he could see.   
  
“Robin, am I hearing things again?” he asked, putting down his pen before turning his head to look over to her.   
  
The archeologist shook her head, closing her book. “No, I can hear the singing too. It’s Binks’ Brew, right?”   
  
“Yes… It’s a wonderful rendition of it, too. Even without instruments, the singer puts so much life into their vocals.” Brook said, letting out a wistful sigh as he continued to listen. There was something familiar about this voice, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on why he felt that way. Still, that feeling didn’t go away, and instead gnawed at the back of his mind until he decided to finally go to see who exactly was singing.   
  
In the time that he’d been lost in thought, the voice had moved closer, and been joined by one that he could most easily recognize as Luffy’s. There was little harmony between the two, but it made for a testament to the captain’s stubborn will.   
  
Brook turned around as he realized just how close the two voices were, and froze once he caught sight of Luffy walking up to the Sunny, arm in arm with someone.   


The singing stopped as soon as the stranger caught sight of him, and he found himself unable to even speak.

 

Memories he had long since thought to be inseparable from his dreams and delusions came rushing back, bringing with them a voice and a grin that he’d never thought he would see again. Age had brought more lines to that beloved grin, but his eyes hadn’t changed in the slightest. They still shone with life, a vibrant spark that Brook could almost find himself envious of. Still, those feelings were blown away by a single question. Something so simple, that he hadn’t even realized could still be said.

 

“... Brook, is it really you?”

  
Untold hope weighed on those words, and just like that, the spell keeping his body from moving was gone. In an instant, he was throwing himself onto the old man, clinging to him like a child as he cried.

 

He might have lost the one thing that had kept him from truly sinking into the fog of the Florian Triangle, but he was no longer trapped there. There was still plenty for him to live for, and to see.

 

Truly, he was happy to be alive.


	5. Birthday Cheers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to Brook's birthday! Set during the Rumbar Pirates' time, post-separation with Laboon.

“Alright, on one, two, three-” Yorki said, counting down in a whisper as he raised one hand, looming over Brook. Behind him stood as many men as could fit inside the room, and they were all waiting for his signal.

When the last finger folded, they all took a breath simultaneously before unleashing a roar that could very well have been heard over all the seas.

 

“ _HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROOK!_ ”

 

The result was instantaneous, as the first mate was up on his feet in mere seconds, flailing a little before finally noticing that they were the ones responsible for that… Wake-up call.

  
“... Is this revenge?” he asked, holding back laughter as he looked at them all. The room was just dim enough that he didn’t need to put on his glasses yet, so his eyes were completely uncovered.

  
“Yep! We’ve been planning this for weeks!” Yorki replied, grinning.

 

That statement was enough for Brook to actually burst into laughter, knowing just how fitting it was that they wake him up with the worst possible chorus on his birthday when he usually threw them all out of bed with the Black Handkerchief of Happiness every morning.

  
It was a standing tradition that they never went too hard on celebrations during anyone’s birthday, but instead there was a toast during the evening meal where all of the congratulatory messages were thrown rapid-fire at their intended recipient.

  
And, if they all started to chant at some point, well that was just the alcohol talking.

 

Still, when night fell, Yorki beckoned Brook to come with him to the captain’s cabin, practically yanking him into the room before shutting and locking the door.

  
“I know that I’m not really s’posed to get you a gift, but I saw these last time we docked at an island, and I couldn’t resist.” With that said, he fished out a small box, opening it before presenting Brook with the contents.

 

Two simple gold bands, resting on a bed of cheap, probably fake satin.

  
“But, in my defense, this is just making things obvious.” Yorki then added, and took one of the rings from the box to give to Brook.

  
“You do have a point, but I’m still going to thank you for this.” Brook replied, and pulled Yorki close before kissing him.

  
Yorki grinned, and took Brook’s hand to place the ring on one of his slender fingers. Brook of course returned the gesture before they both kissed again, soft smiles on their faces.

 

When sleep took them that night, their bond had been made visible, and they would carry it with them forever.

 


	6. Returning Soul, Lost Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An AU in which Yorki did die from his illness, and has been reincarnated. Canon-compliant, and set post-timeskip.

To say that Brook didn’t have keen hearing was a complete lie, and would always be, despite his lack of ears.

 

His memories may be muddled with decades of fog lingering within his skull, but he could always recall sounds in almost perfect clarity. Faces and scenery may fade away like the colors of an old photograph, but the voices would remain with him.

 

Thus, when he heard a voice that had once been a most precious part of his first life, he came to a complete halt. Even when Usopp walked into him and asked what had gotten into him, he didn’t move.

 

All of his senses were honing in on that voice, the voice that should have been worn and wearied by age.

 

Without a word of warning, he turned around and started to walk. Following the sound of that voice, he broke into a sprint.

 

Brook came to a stop before a fountain, where he had seen street musicians of all kinds play earlier in the day. Now, a man had taken their place, singing a ballad.

 

It wasn’t a ballad that he had ever heard, but the voice was still the same as the one he remembered.

 

It was the voice of his former captain.

 

It was the voice of Yorki.

 

Brook couldn’t bring himself to speak, tears already pouring from empty sockets.

 

Then, the song stopped.

 

“You alright there?” The singer asked, their voice clearly filled with concern. They spoke Linian, without even the slightest hint of an accent.

 

When he didn’t respond, they stepped closer.

 

As they did, Brook was able to look at their face more closely. In what had once been a reflexive gesture, a display of gentle, sweet affection, he reached up and traced a familiar shape under the singer’s right eye. A shape that had always been present on his captain’s face, an outline in black ink.

 

But now, it was missing. There were no marks on this man’s face, not even the small scar that had once rested just above Yorki’s hairline.

 

But even so, his treacherous hope still remained.

 

“ _Yorki… I’m sorry._ ” he whispered, tears still rolling down white bone as he spoke.

 

‘Yorki’ blinked, confusion briefly crossing his face.

 

Even the way his brows furrowed was the same as in Brook’s memories.

 

“I, could you repeat that?” he asked, looking up at Brook in a mixture of both confusion and concern.

 

“... I’m sorry.” Brook said, speaking Linian even as his voice shook.

 

“For what? I do believe this is the first time we’ve met, stranger.” Yorki replied, offering a kind smile as he spoke.

 

That smile drove a knife into Brook’s chest, and he covered his eye sockets with one hand.

 

“... Oh, it can’t be the first time. But it is, isn’t it? This isn’t just a dream, right?” Brook asked, his tears still flowing. “I must have mistaken you for someone else… I’m sorry, again. I shouldn’t have assumed, but your voice… It sounds just like his.”

 

“Oh.. I’m sorry for your loss.” he replied, blinking.

 

“You’re too kind, even after I interrupted your performance.” Brook said, shaking his head a little. “I’ll leave you be, now. Your song was wonderful.”

 

With those words left hanging in the air, Brook turned around and started to walk away.

 

Now, he knew that his love had truly left. The Yorki that was in his memories didn’t exist anymore, regardless of whether or not his soul had found its way back into the world of the living.

 

It hurt, to see the face of his beloved turn into that of a stranger. There was no recognition, no scars, nothing. But, as he listened to the song from afar, he could almost trick himself into believing that Yorki was still living, somehow.


	7. Morning in Sabaody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early morning with Shakky, Brook, and Rayleigh. Because even a skeleton deserves some new love at the end of the day.

There were many things Brook found himself feeling grateful for, these days. 

 

Being alive, for one. Even if he was a skeleton with enough empty headspace to have unnecessary thoughts rattle around for decades at a time, he was still as energetic as he always had been. 

 

Then, there was his new crew, who had welcomed him even after the hardship they’d gone through on Thriller Bark. They even gave him a chance to fulfill the still-unbroken promise to Laboon, and took back his shadow from Moria simply to make that possible. Coincidences and incidents aside, he owed them more than his second life could ever offer. Especially to their, and now his, captain. 

 

And finally, now, there was one more thing. It hadn’t quite sunk in yet, but he was getting there. Slowly, as he watched one of the two rose from their shared bed. 

 

Shakuyaku was truly a sight for sore eyes, in his humble opinion. Even without eyes to see with, he found himself watching her quietly go through her morning routine. What faint light streamed through the drawn curtains was all that he needed to note the little details. 

 

The faint crows’ feet around her eyes, and the even fainter lines in her face that only showed when she let herself truly smile. Even at her age, that she had yet to disclose to either of her men, she was stunning. 

 

Though, Brook couldn’t say that he didn’t have a certain fondness for her back and how it sloped so gently in comparison to his rickety spine. Even Rayleigh’s back wasn’t like that, though Brook saw them both as works of art. 

 

Speaking of Rayleigh, the man in question had yet to wake up. This was in spite of how he was draped over Brook like a tomcat napping in the sun. A certain someone hadn’t understood how bones were uncomfortable, it seemed. 

 

Still, Brook held back his laughter, and instead let his gaze wander from Shakuyaku’s form to Rayleigh’s face. 

 

The night had been a good one, and it showed so easily in how relaxed the man was. There was no furrow to his brow, his breaths deep and slow as he slept on. Brook liked to trace the lines in his face, as they were far more obvious in comparison to Shakuyaku’s. 

 

But not now, when he was sleeping so sweetly. 

 

No one could deny the fact that Rayleigh, despite his age, was in great shape. His body was strong, perfectly fitting the man who had once stood at the side of the Pirate King, and riddled with scars because of it. 

 

If he had to name a favorite part of Rayleigh, Brook couldn’t quite decide. His hands, perhaps? They were the hands of a protector, worn from hard work and training. He liked to hold them, even if he couldn’t feel their warmth. 

 

Both Rayleigh and Shakuyaku were so kind, sometimes he didn’t know how to cope with it. He wondered if he really deserved them, if they weren’t just settling for him to make him feel less lonely. 

 

Though, when those thoughts came to him, somehow, they chased them away. 

 

And, when he saw them both like this, with only the light of morning playing accompaniment to this moment, he felt perfectly at ease. He loved them, and they loved him in return. 

 

If he had been able to smile, he would have done so to the point of his face hurting. He simply couldn’t help but want to tell them of how happy he was, just to spend time with them like this. 

 

“Is that a new song, Brook?” Shakuyaku asked, turning around to look over to him. 

 

“Oh, did I start humming again? My apologies.” Brook answered, only now realizing that he had started to hum. It was among the least intrusive tics he had, though he never really noticed when it started. 

 

Then, he felt Rayleigh shift with a quiet groan, and then the man moved to sit up. 

 

Well, it was nice while it lasted. 

 

“Good morning, Rayleigh.” he said, a smile readily apparent in his tone of voice. 

 

“Morning, Brook, Shakky.” Rayleigh replied, a lazy grin on his face as he put on his glasses. 

 

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Shakky replied, unable to resist smiling a little herself. 

 

Yes, this was something to be grateful for. 


End file.
